


Shapeshifters

by JanieaWolf



Category: Original Work
Genre: Animal Transformation, Eventual Romance?, F/M, On Hiatus, Shapeshifting, Slavery
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-27
Updated: 2020-07-28
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:07:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 7,112
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25557835
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JanieaWolf/pseuds/JanieaWolf
Summary: There are several different clans of shapeshifters, there's the Cerato and Equus Clans who are rhinos and horses, there is the Homini Clan that can turn into any human, the Falco Clan that turns into keen-eyed falcons, the Feline Clan turns into graceful Cats, and Ursi Clan that turns into various sleepy bears.this story follows the Canine Janiea and her adventure starting when her son, Janan, gets sold by their Master and she embarks on a quest to save him and escape slavery with the help of her newfound friends Nathaniel, Desmond, and Imayra. Will she save her son? or will she be forced to return to slavery?





	1. Prolog

**Author's Note:**

> This is something I tried to write a few years ago, now I'm bringing it here. If you like it thanks, if not well... I tried?  
> I tried to make some edits as time went on so I have no idea how much sense it will make, thanks for reading.  
> also, just a note, the main character, Janiea, is who my username is based on

TA mutt, that's what I am. At least that's what The Master says I am to avoid paying extra for travel. In truth, I'm a slave, a shapeshifter.

"What's the destination sir?"

"Balem, third district."

"Third district? There's nothin' but Beggars and thieves livin' there, why in the world would you want to go there?" the man questioned. What he didn't realize was that he was talking to the owner of the mansion in the 3rd district.

"My purpose doesn't matter," The Master coolly replied, "I wish to go to 3rd district."

"If you say so sir," the man said cautiously, "here is your ticket, and here is your dog pass. You attach it to the collar like..."

"I know how to attach a dog pass" the Master curtly interrupted as he handed the man five.

Two things that most people didn't realize about the 3rd district, first those "thieves and beggars" were truly mercenaries and slaves belonging to the master, and second, the whole of third district was his property. It was a nice property, minus the poorly dressed slaves and cruel mercenaries. The Master made sure that his home was surrounded by nice scenery. But it was all just a show, a façade, for a dark cloud always hung over the manor. As we walked through the garden servants stopped their work and bowed, not out of respect for The Master, but out of fear, for it was not uncommon for a slave who was less respectful to spend a fortnight in the dungeon or to be flayed when The Master had a bad day.

"Very well mutt," The Master growled when we got inside, "You're dismissed." I quickly changed to my true form, my Dahr. Being of the Canine Clan I didn't look quite human, I had two legs and two arms of course, but my ears were more pointed than a human would be, my body had a thin layer of fur covering it and I had a tail. I quickly bowed and mumbled a thank you to avoid punishment and ran on my way.

"Mother?" called out the small voice of a child as I entered the dungeon.

"Yes Janan is me," I replied as I approached the cell.

"Did you find any food on your hunt?"

"I'm afraid not The Master caught me before I could stash it away for you."

"What did he do with it?" Janan asked eyes cast downward

"He had his servant cook it up and thanked me for 'catching his lunch for the day,'" 

"Master Always was Sooo generous." He replied

"I did however sneak some meat from the pantry for you," I said as I threw him a chunk of fresh venison from today's hunt. Excited by this he tore into the small chunk as he shifted to and from his favorite pup form.

"Thank you mama, and please thank the kitchen maid too for covering up the missing meat," he said kind as ever despite the cruel treatment... I heard the tinkling of a bell and went to see which one, for I knew it was for me, Drawing room, it said

"Janan I must be going now, The Master is calling," I said sarcastically as I shifted and ran to avoid punishment.

"Goodbye Mama" replied the boy sadly.


	2. Troubling News

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Plot starts to pick up, I think this was the chapter I was happiest with when I wrote this...

"Janiea," The Master called when I entered "Go and help the servants prep the cage," he said

"Very well master, who is to be sold?" I inquired for I needed to know to properly prep the cage.

"The servants will tell you." He replied uninterested, perplexed I went to help with the cage. as I approached the cage the servants stared at me with sad and shocked eyes.

"What is the matter?" I asked, curious as to what was wrong "who is to be sold?"

"So he hasn't told you," said the Kitchenmaid who was delivering the small portion of food for the slave 

"He's selling Janan." She told me "We all thought he would excuse you from handling this cage or at the very least tell you who it was for." I stood for a minute trying to comprehend

"He's selling Janan?" I asked softly "He's selling Janan! How dare he!" I shouted "He assured me that Janan would stay! He said Janan would be taken care of!" I broke down and started to cry

"Janiea you have to calm down," the kitchen maid said trying to comfort me "he hasn't sold Janan yet and he's still in the drawing-room so he can't see us, go and visit Janan" she suggested "He's not scheduled to be brought to the cage till after The Master's dinner"

As I stole into the dungeon I noticed Janan curled up in the corner, he appeared to be asleep, but as I came closer he looked at me as if expecting death its self. 

"Mama!?" he called perking up instantly, "Mama! I thought I wouldn't have another chance to see you!"

"You mean you knew you were to be sold?" I asked confused "I wasn't even told until I went to prepare the cage."

"Yes The Master told me before your hunt, he said that you knew too and that you wouldn't talk to me about it because you didn't love me," he said as he shamefully looked at the ground for believing The Masters' words.

"I need to get you away from here," I said not even thinking on how "do you know where they keep the keys?"

"Mama," he said calmly "If you free me from The Master now he shall hunt you down until you are dead and I am a slave again. Leave me to be sold, he will be leaving you to emphasize his point to me that you don't care, please don't mourn for me mama, I'll be fine,"

"Janiea," the Kitchen Maid said behind me "The Master will soon be down to see our progress on the cage, we must go."

As we finished the final preparations on the cage The Master came down to inspect our work. After an incident several years ago where a slave escaped because of a few loosened bars, he was always keen on personally checking the cage himself. At the same time, the people who prepared the cage were left in the dungeon with half a meal a day for a week being flayed every other day. So as he always checked the cage we never broke it for fear of our lives.

"Very well," he said as calm as if he were inspecting a carriage "it's nice and sturdy, not even that slave from ten years ago could have broken out of this one," I growled softly, enraged at him for selling my only family.

"You are all dismissed for your supper."

After my meager meal of raw chicken and half-cooked rice I silently hid behind an empty barrel in the courtyard where the master will load Janan into the cage along with himself and his toiletries into the carriage.

"Make sure to check in the dog keep for that female mutt Master always uses to hunt his slaves," said one of the mercenaries coming from their dorm rooms,

"But do you really think she'll try anything? She's just one shapeshifter," Questioned the other

"But do you want to face a wolf? She's of the Canine Clan." The first said with a quiet reverence

"I guess you're right," the second replied "I'll go ahead and do the first check now," he said peeking into the little box under the carriage, then I noticed the first guard looking around him, almost as if looking for something... or someone. His eyes hovered over the barrel for a moment then, with a half-smile I had never seen on this man's face before, he turned back to his buddy.

"You keep a lookout make sure she doesn't try to sneak into the keep, I'll check in the woods and make sure she's not planning to follow from there." And with that, he marched off in the direction of the woods. I figured they wouldn't leave without him and having ruined my plane to hide in the keep I decided to follow him. As I followed him I recounted all that I knew about him, his name is Kaleb, he was always serious during hunts, and he had never smiled I then tried to remember exactly how he had smiled, a sly smile like he knew a secret, a personal joke, After this thought, I realized that I could not see him anymore, I saw him enter the clearing up ahead, but didn't see where he went next. I realized a second too late when I stepped into the trap.

"Dammit" I mumbled to myself, I finally realized why he had gone into the woods, he didn't go to check for me, he went to catch me.

"Welcome fellow stranger!" said a strange man, I decided that instead of Kaleb trying to catch me I must have lost him at some point on the trek "Now what would a sweet young lady such as yourself be doing in the district three woods, you know about the thieves right?" he said as I dangled upside down from a tree

"How dare you treat a woman in this manner, I do believe proper Etiquette says you would help me down first ask questions second" I angrily scolded

"Yes but I also believe it is proper etiquette not to mysteriously follow a strange man in the woods." He said in a quiet angered tone, I was about to respond but he quickly pulled a bag over my head and before I could react tied my hands together and cut me down from the tree "a pet of Gideon would just get in the way" he said with finality, then the world went dark.


	3. A new world

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> prison break

I woke up in confused, where was I? Why were my hands tied? It was then that I remembered the man from before. At the same time, I noticed that there was a slight throb in the back of my head the fool hit me in the head! I guess I shouldn't have been surprised he did set a trap in the woods for me.

"Shhh! She's waking up."

"It's not like she can see us" replied a second voice

"But we can't let Gideon learn our planes!" I could now identify the first voice as female and the second a male, I also decided at this moment to smell out my surroundings, my mistake, I gaged because the bag smelled like year-old meat and rotten eggs

"Yep she's awake," said the male voice

"I told you!" Replied the female

"What should we do with her?"

"I don't know."

"We should probably feed her; even for one of Gideon's she's skinny"

"Absolutely not, we shall not remove the sack!"

"Do you remember everything we've put in that bag over the years?"

"Yes... I do," she said skeptically" but what does that have to do with her?"

"Would you want to have it on your head?"

"NO, fine we'll take it off but only to feed her." And with that they came closer and removed the sack, I was in a small hut, I saw three sleeping mats in the corner, three chairs at the table, and just about everything else in the room suggested that three people lived here. They helped me up since my hands were still tied and guided me to one of the chairs so they could give me food.

"I'm not a pet" I spat offended that they would make such a confusion.

"Then why did you follow Nathaniel!" accused the girl, now that I could see her I could tell she was a shapeshifter of the Equus Clan, she could turn into any horse, she had a free wild look to her and, if you looked closely, certain parts of her skin were different shades, like the pelt of a horse. I then looked at the man he too was a shapeshifter, only he was of the Cerato Clan, a Rhinoceros. His skin tone was dark and his physique was large I would be hard to believe he was not made of mussel, and he had an oddly shaped nose, both were young maybe mid-twenties, but it's hard to tell with shape Shifters, their life span is longer than that of a human.

"I wasn't trying to follow your friend, I was following one of the mercenaries of The Master who was acting strangely, he also was going to accompany The Master to sell my son, I have no idea how I was following him or even what happened to the mercenary but I must help my son."

"So you admit he's your master," the girl replied haughtily

"Easy Imayra, let her explain herself before we jump to conclusions," the man calmly said

"Desmond! I don't trust her she is just another pet of Gideon!"

"Desmond?" I asked, "Desmond is that really you?"

"Yes," he replied, "and I'm guessing your Janiea, they still haven't broken you I see."

"Desmond you know me why keep me tied up?"

"It's been eight years; Last time I saw you you were still a child. I wasn't sure you would even remember me, after all, Gideon made me forget my family when I was a child."

"But just because you forgot doesn't mean you're a different person, even if I had forgotten you I still have my son; and I will not abandon my son."

"Uggh" Imayra groaned "You could be just saying that, But we don't have time to find out and I don't have the energy to spare arguing with you, we need to go help Nathan."

It was dark out, and as we approached the keep, they stayed in their Dahr to maintain mobility and communication. I shifted for information, I decided on a form I had not used since I was a pup in the woods, I shifted to a Tundra wolf.

After shifting I could smell all the people who were currently in the keep, I smelled the familiar smell of Kaleb mixed with a Homini, but I didn't smell any maids or The Master, what I did smell was a shapeshifter, I couldn't identify the clan or anything else about the individual, but I knew it was a shifter and could only hope it was Janan. The guard came out for his nightly rounds and Desmo ran forward with unbelievable speed he then pinned the guard to the wall with his long knife knocked him out with his fist and took the keys, Imayra shifted to her Dahr and we both came into the light as Desmo unlocked the door, we then ran into the keep.

"See if you can smell any shifters," Imayra said and I took a deep breath, there were two in the keep, one I could not identify, the other of the Homini Clan. I shifted and shared this information with Imayra and Desmond

"The Homini is Nathan," explained Desmond, "the other is our mission, we're going to do our best to free him,"

"Wait Nathan is a Homini?" I asked a bit peeved, for a Homini can change to look like any human they have seen and that meant that I really was following this Nathaniel rather than Kaleb, in fact, the Kaleb I was following probably was Nathan "you can't blame me for following him in the woods then he was disguised as a mercenary and doing a bad job at the impersonations."

"We'll discuss this later," Desmond said, "right now we need to find that other shifter, can you lead the way?"

"Fine he's this way," I replied and shifted back to a wolf, after sneaking down two corridors I stopped suddenly the smell of blood suddenly reached my nose, it came from the other direction from the shifter

"Janiea? What's wrong why have we stopped?" asked Imayra I shifted again into my Dahr

"I smell blood, it's coming from the other hall," I explained

"It's probably Nathan." Assessed Desmond "The two of you should go after the shifter I'll go and assist Nathan with whatever problems he's facing."  
"But Desmond you could use my help as well!" Imayra insisted

"But what would you do if the shifter is too hurt to walk or run? How would Janiea get him away? Also, how would she know where to take him?" Desmond reasoned

"Fine, but a soon as we're away I'm coming right back to help." And with that, he ran down one corridor and we ran down the other.

As we ran down the hall I kept a constant awareness that the shifters scent was nothing like Janan's, perhaps it was wrong to hope, after all, I didn't realize until my ear almost came off that we were no longer alone in the hall, there was an archer behind me, that almost took off my ear, and two swordsmen ahead, about to take off my nose.

"We've been ambushed!" cried Imayra "Do what you must just don't kill them," she mumbled under her breath so that I would be the only one to hear, fine by me, I thought, for it was my job as a slave to catch without killing other slaves. I crouched I a hunting stance ready to pounce or run, depending on how my prey reacted, but I had forgotten the archer behind me,

"Whhhhhn!" I whined for the archer had landed a shot in my flank. I leaped onto one of the swordsmen and, in a blind rage and suffering from intense pain, bite hard into his shoulder.

"Janiea!" cried Imayra "Janiea hang on I'm coming!" and with that, she started running towards me, I decided that whatever she was going to do, it would be better if I wasn't stuck to my opponent, so I released him and he staggered backward. Then Imayra hoisted me up and onto her back, shifted to another beautiful mare, and raced down the hall, I shifted back so I could direct her down the halls and stairs to the dungeon. When we finally made it I slipped off her back to start to search for keys but Imayra neighed at me and nudged me, somehow, I knew she wanted me to lead her to the cage, so I did and she bucked the door open revealing a small girl,

"Wh who are you?" the girl timidly asked, "are you here to hurt me, like the others?"

"No," replied Imayra after shifting to her Dahr "we're here to rescue you, what is your name?"

"My name is Shuna, Shuna of the Falco Clan."

"Very well Shuna, I'm Imayra of the Equus Clan. We need to get out of here our presence has not gone unnoticed."

"If it were all right with you, I would prefer to fly, I haven't been allowed to for years."

"That is all right Shuna," replied Imayra "just avoid weapons and follow us." And with that, she shifted into an Amur falcon and launched herself into the air.

"Janiea, you need to lead her away, I have to go help Nathan and Desmond,"

"No," I firmly said, "I'm not fast enough to get away on foot, and I don't know the meeting place. Also, what would they do if you ended up getting lost in here and captured? I know Desmo would never forgive himself."

"But I have to help them!" she said earnestly "I can't just sit down and wait for them to return while they could be dying!"

I slapped her "We need to take care of Shuna, she's just a little girl, alone and afraid. She needs a safe place to rest." I said forcefully, this seemed to break her out of her hysterics enough to agree with me and we ran, three mismatched animals, up the stairs, down the halls, out of the keep, and into the woods. Imayra then led us in her Dahr form to an abandoned wagon set up to be light enough for one horse to easily pull with tree people in it.

"The plan was for me to pull the cart with Nathan, Desmond, and Shuna inside it, and we would head to town like a family or a group of friends out for the night." Explained Imayra "But now Janiea, you need to take their place, If anyone asks your Shuna's mother, there is a robe in the cart just in case Shuna was a Ursi or canine, but being a Falco she looks more human than you, so you may want to use it to cover your ears."

Wearing the robe, Shuna and I 'led' Imayra to the town we departed from and into a small dead-end ally to abandon the cart, we then climbed the wall and entered the hut that they had me bound in, which was on the other side of the wall. We left the lantern out so as not to attract attention to our hut and started to comfort Shuna.

"Do you want any food?" asked Imayra in her best efforts to be gentle.

"No thank you." Replied Shuna obviously in shock from her new freedom

"How about I tuck you in," I said in a motherly tone, she looked at me for a second, not registering what I had said.

"Yes that will be fine," she said calmly but still dazed. I set her up on the smallest of the mats, probably Imayras kissed her good night, but stayed by her side to try and comfort her.


	4. Proper Etiquette

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A moment of rest followed by bad news.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter makes me cringe... please don't hate it.

The next morning Shuna looked to be in slightly higher spirits, more aware of her surroundings. She was a very pretty girl, she had wavy brown hair with some feathers, probably her own, hanging Indian style from her head in a very becoming way.

"What would you like to eat for breakfast?" I asked

"Whatever, I won't mind what you cook after being a slave and being served rotten meat." I decided to make some eggs, I had learned a little cooking from the kitchen maid, and eggs couldn't be that hard.

"Imayra, do you have any eggs?"

"Yeah, you see that rug in the corner?" she asked pointing at the rug in question "The icebox is under there, just pull on the ring."

"Thank you," I said as I lifted the rug. I grabbed some eggs, found a pan, and started to prep the woodstove.

"Janie! You forgot to butter the pan!" Imayra exclaimed when she saw me pouring the eggs into the pan. "If you don't butter the pan your eggs will never come off."

"Oh my gosh!" I exclaimed, "I had no idea, is there anything else I forgot?"

"Eggs are usually better with onions and peppers so if you want to find some of those,"

"Maybe you should make them Imayra," I said a little embarrassed to know so little about food,

"Oh no," she said excitedly "if you're going to learn how to cook then you need to do it yourself, and I'm going to coach you!" I could see the glint in her eyes at the prospect of teaching me to cook,

"Okay then, how should I cut up the produce?"

"Just stick with what you've got and some salt, for now, we'll start you off easy" the eggs cooked quickly and nicely, and we were just setting the table when the door slammed open and the man I met in the woods stumbled in all bloody.

"Nathan!" Imayra yelled and ran to his side "Nathan, what happened? Are you ok? Where's Desmond?

"Calm down Imayra, let him sit down and get him some water, both to drink and to wash off, Nathan take your shirt off we're going to get you clean."

"Who are you?" Nathan asked defensively "Why are you ordering Imayra around and... why is she listening to you?"

"My name is Janiea," I said smiling demurely at him, "and I'm the woman you bagged in the woods." It took him a minute to recall what I was talking about. I took off his shirt to start to wash off the blood and his face turned bright red while recalling our exchange.

"I'm sorry about the trap," he said avoiding eye contact "how's your head?"

"Better after a good nights rest, but the bag didn't help. Now can you tell us what happened to you and Desmond? It can't have been good with all these large cuts." I said washing his varying sizes of cuts and scrapes, the only way I could cover them all was to wrap his whole body with bandages.

"Yeah it was bad, I must have taken a wrong turn to get to the dungeon, and as I was wandering the hall, well let's just say the guy I was posed as shouldn't have been down there. They realized I wasn't who I said I was and started to try to fight me, that's probably when Desmond came along as well as extra guards. They caught Desmond as he was trying to protect me. He's the only reason I got away."

"Do you think they'll kill him?" I asked

"No, they'll keep him alive, but only barely. Dammit, Desmond why you always got to be so selfless?"

"We'll help him Nathan," I said after covering the last of the large cuts with bandages. "We just have to have faith. But for now, you need rest, we have fresh eggs and they need to be eaten."


	5. Priorities

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One person cannot do everything

It had been a couple of days and Nathans more serious wounds had not yet healed, he constantly insisted on doing all manner of activities while waiting on them, and constantly tore them back open climbing trees or playing with Shuna. At the moment they were playing hide n go seek as I was trying to find him before he opened up another wound. I sniffed the ground around, for I was a wolf, and found his scent, I followed his trail and it led me to a small tree and then diverged, one trail went down by the river the other went deeper into the forest, I then looked up and saw Shuna up in the skies looking down at me. I didn't want her to know it was me for if she found Nathan before me he would engage him in another game before I could get a word in edgewise, so I started up the path to the woods for there was a wolf encampment by the way that was commonly used, her shadow passed away overhead but I stayed on the same course to make sure that she didn't catch me and follow me to Nathan.

"AHWOO," cried the alpha wolf of the pack, a pack of grey wolfs had been here for a couple of days so I had met them and they knew I mean the pack no harm. the alpha came down to greet me and I explained to him that I was looking for Nathan.

"A Homini Shifter came to the border of our encampment today, but he then turned around and carefully retraced his steps back through the woods."

"Thank you much, that was all I needed to know." figures he would backtrack, he doesn't want to be found by Shuna, and others following his tracks would lead her to him. I stayed in the woods for a couple more minutes and then set off toward the river, like a grey wolf, by a different path trying not to attract the attention of Shuna by following the same path again. I picked up Nathans scent again at the edge of where the woods turn to river and followed it further back into the woods to a small pond with a stream, from a small waterfall, leading into it I shifted and started to check the area for Nathan, it was the perfect hiding spot, there was a thick blanket of canopy hiding it from Shuna, Yet It as well lit by various illuminating stones, the low light made this a peaceful place and the constant flow of the waterfall seemed to wash away all my cares. in a small cleft next to the waterfall I found Nathan, it looked like he was asleep so I very carefully moved around the pond to check on him, of course with the waterfall it wasn't too hard. I must have been 10 feet away when he disappeared, I ran the rest of the distance worried that he fell, I reached the cleft and almost got hit by a knife thrust out of a tunnel that leads further down, the perfect hiding hole if he were caught.

"Nathaniel!!" I cried startled and angered by the fact that he had almost stabbed me "What on earth are you thinking! You could have cut me!"

"Janiea?" he said startled then suddenly angry, "I thought you were a slaver! You just about gave me a heart attack!"

"I came to find you so you wouldn't tear any more stitches!"I yelled back, he then sat down and sighed,

"So you've been worried about me then." it wasn't a question, but a statement

"Yeah," I said sitting next to him "The day we lost Desmond you were lost in a panic, but the next day, you just ran off carefree to play with Shuna."

"I wanted her to feel safe and comforted after escaping her master, and I've found the best way to comfort a child is to play with them," he explained, he then winced and reached for his side,

"Nathan we need to get you back to the cabin so you can heal," I said in a soft tone

"I know," he replied, "I guess I'll have to tell Shuna that I can't play with her anymore."

"Just for a while," I replied, "but after we save Desmond we can help her find a Falco clan so she can play with others of her kind."

"I hope so," he said somberly. as we made our way to the cabin a shadow passed over our heads and Shuna landed in front of us.

"I found you!" she exclaimed after switching to her Dahr.

"Actually, Janeia found me first so she won this round." countered Nathan with a glance at me  
"No fair, she never said she was going to play." 

"It's a new version of hide-n-seek," I said, "Every one hides and seeks, I was hiding from you and you never found me, but I found Nathan first."

"But I then found both of you!" she said, proud of herself for this accomplishment.

"She has a point Nathan," I said with a wink at Nathan "She found me before I found her"

"So its a tie!" she said as she started to run up the path we were onto the cabin


	6. Deadlines

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything always gets worse before it gets better

After we got Nathan in the cabin, I went as a wolf to scout out the keep where Desmond got captured. I watched carts go to and fro till noon none carrying the smell of Desmond, I decided to take a quick hunting break to catch some lunch. When I returned two men were standing beside a slave cart that had no slaves in it, they had all been dropped off the day before. I knew from being a slave myself that they were negotiating slaves to trade, I decided to get closer so I could hear what they were talking about, I approached from the rear of the cart and quietly climbed underneath to get as close as possible.

"I'll pay twenty Nours for him and no more, a Cerato is a rare treat but if he is a rouge like you say then the value goes down." explained the slaver

"No, He is a good worker, I gave him chores, and he finished them quickly and efficiently."

"They all work well for you, its because you're too easy on them. Everyone I've sold your slaves to complain that they're not broken, they don't take orders like the others."

"It's because they're too hard on their slaves. They react just as well as real people when you treat them poorly, maybe you would like to watch him work?"

"No, do we have a deal or not?" asked the trader impatiently

"Very well, I can't afford to lose a Nour." sighed the man as he signed Desmond over to the slaver and received his pay. 

"understandable, I'll be back to pick up my property tomorrow at noon." said the slaver clearly not understanding at all, I shifted and ran to the cabin to inform the others.

"We need to move now!" I yelled as I entered the cabin

"Why?"Shuna asked Imayra and Nathan were also giving me curious glances.

"Because the Master of the Keep has sold Desmond to a slaver."

"Then we should come up with a plan and head out around noon tomorrow," said Imayra with eyes full of anxiety

"By noon tomorrow they won't be there anymore," I said 

"Okay, here's the plan, " said Nathan slowly, "Imayra, it will be the same as to rescue Shuna. You and Janiea will go to the dungeon, check if he's there, I will Pose as a Slaver looking for a Cerato, Janiea how much was he sold for?"

"Twenty Nours, But he wanted more." I answered quickly "Also he was already paid and signed the papers over to the slaver."

"Ok, well then this will possibly help with my distraction." he replied, "If it were easy to get him to sell me Desmond, then we would be in trouble with you two wandering around the Keep looking for him."

"Nathan, what if he's not in the dungeon?" asked Imayra "We won't know where to look next."

"If he's not in the dungeon then search the other floors, Also you can use Janiea's nose to sniff him out, he has to be there somewhere."

When we arrived at the keep fully ready and loaded, Imayra and I for a fight, and Nathan to bargain. we came by cart, Imayra was pulling as a white mare, we hid her a bow and some arrows in the cart, and I was posing as a slave to help validate the idea that he truly was a slave owner, underneath my shabby robe I had a belt with Desmond's dagger collection. Nathan really went all out, for he was in what looked like a nice royal blue suit with white gloves and formal shoes, in his belt showing was, what I assumed, his finest sword, on top of it all he had shifted to look like a handsome nobleman. after stepping down from the cart he addressed the group of guards.

"I request an audience with the master of this keep." He said as eloquently as any nobleman, he obviously knew what he was doing.

"What's your Business," asked a guard wary from the news of rogue shifters in the area

"I have come looking to buy a slave, and I hear this keep has a large host that has very low demand."He replied candidly

"And who might I say is requesting the audience?" said the guard, trying not to look eager.

"Sir Kelavin," Nathan claimed, "I own a small keep that was gifted me by my uncle and I need slaves to help run it."

"Very well sir," said the guard drooling at the prospect of business, "allow my men to care for your cart and horse and I will bring you and your slave to my lord."

"Allow my slave to care for the horse and cart, just show her where the stable is." Nathan requested. As they led me and Imayra to the stable I watched for any side entrances to the keep, to no avail though, for if there were any doors they were well hidden. Once in the stable, I made a show of brushing Imayra thoroughly until the guards left feeling they could trust me and my "Master" to have broken me. After they had gone Imayra and I started to talk strategy.


	7. The Distraction

The guard led me down several passages to a small library with an old kind looking gentlemen,

"Milord," said the guard "Sir Kelavin is here to bargain for slaves,"

"Very well Sir Kelavin, what kind of slave are you here to bargain for?" he said it even and calm.

"Well, Sir..."  
"Sir Grissen" He quickly said,

"Ah, well Sir Grissen I thought that you would tell me what you have and I could choose from a selection," I said trying to stall

"Well I have many types of slaves, Falco, Lago, even some Ursi, do any of these sound acceptable?"

"Hmm, quite an offer Sir Grissen," I stated like a true bargainer would, "Some Lago rabbits would be nice for maids, they always have had such a gentle touch. but I was Hoping you happen to have a Cerato." 

"Ah a Cerato, I only have one, quite a popular breed, I'm afraid I've already sold him."

"I see," I said as if disappointed "is there any way I could convince you to let me buy it instead?" 

"I'm afraid not without the current owner being here, and I don't think he'll like the idea of me selling him to you."

"Very well," I said starting to panic, I had to keep stalling, "would I be able to stay till the current owner returns?" 

"Well I don't see why not, I am afraid we will need to come to an arrangement for we cannot afford to feed a stranger without some form of fee," he said with a sober look in his eyes

"I understand," I said softly

"Anyway," he said with renewed spirits, "Let me guide me to your room." we then left the room and roamed down a couple of corridors, as we went I kept careful track of where we were and how to get back out again,

"So should I arrange a room for your slave too or are you going to leave her in the barn with your horse?" he said the last part spitefully as if he resented the idea of treating slaves like cattle. it was then that I remembered that I had come with a supposed slave and horse, I thought about how the whole plan would fail if it was discovered that she was missing as well as the horse.

"she has always had a deep connection with that horse," I lied "she probably wouldn't come out even if she was offered, but if she decides she wants to be inside tonight it would be better to know than to be unaware."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First switch in POV... not sure if I portrayed Nathan well, but I do like Mr. Grissen. now that I'm rereading if I do keep writing this may be cool to have him as an ally later.


	8. The Rescue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last chapter I've written. hope you enjoyed it.

We snuck around the building looking for a side door or a secret entrance but found none, We finally decided to head back to the stable for appearances so it looked like we had been there the whole time, as we entered the doors we had left from I noticed Nathan striding towards the main door we had left cracked open,

"Imayra into the stall now," she understood perfectly and ran and changed into the same white horse we used to get in the keep. I then ran over and started to brush her gently hoping my beating heart would slow down,

"Janiea," said Nathan, and as I turned around I could tell that he was surprised that I was here with Imayra.

"Yes Master," I said in a dull voice, for if he was here he would have had an escort right outside,

"The Master of this keep has offered you a room for the night, I decided that you may accept it if you so desire," he said in his least interested voice but his eyes were of honest inquiry if this would help, or hurt the plan.

"If he has offered, and you permit I would be honored." I could tell from his relief that this would also improve our standings with the master of the keep.

"Come along then," he said stiffly, quickly returning to character as he left the stable.

"Very well Sir Grissen, we shall take you up on your offer of a room for my servant, lead on." as he led us further into the unfamiliar keep I focused more on the smells than the sights, I could smell the freshly laundered sheets in the rooms and fresh food being prepared a few halls down, but the one thing I could not smell was the dank smell of a dungeon.

"And this shall be your room." said the Keep Master "I hope you find it comfortable, I will send a maid later to guide you, this building can be confusing for those unfamiliar with its halls." I nodded at his kindness wondering what exactly he was trying to convey. rather than worry about it, I entered the room and familiarized myself with how it looked trying to form a new plan.

The room had a lavish bed dressed in blue sheets, it was also raised off the floor just enough for someone to squeeze underneath, to the right of the bed was a full-sized vanity in front of a curtain that pulled away to reveal a large floor to ceiling window looking out on a balcony. after going onto the balcony and finding nothing I went back inside, other than that it was sparsely decorated as if they had to sell any decorations, there was a large trunk for clothes and such, and more curtains on the rest the walls, but other than that nothing else. Knock knock

"Enter," I called out timidly standing in the middle of the room

"Is everything acceptable miss?" asked the maid after she had closed the door, "I have been sent to help you reach the bath." she was sweet looking, but I sensed something dangerous about her, looking closely I noticed small closed eyes next to her normal ones, and her nails were sharp and hooked, and Aranea.

"I am thankful for the consideration of your master," I said, "it is rare for a master to offer such luxuries to an unknown slave." I watched her as I spoke trying to read what she was thinking.

"If you want to find something, or **_someone_** , you just need to ask." she stared back, opening her extra eyes, she knew what was going on.

"Well then, I'll just take you up on the offer, what's the catch?"

"The master must be able to be able to deny any knowledge of your mission here."


End file.
